The Life Sciences Connect EOSC Node federates data, tools and services from major European life science infrastructures, providing access to biomolecular, biomedical, imaging and structural biology resources.
It enables FAIR-compliant integration of omics, imaging, clinical and experimental model data, supporting cutting-edge research and innovation. In addition, it delivers virtual research environments, workflows and secure access frameworks in line with GDPR and ethical guidelines.
To augment the biodata expertise of the EOSC Federation, ensuring interoperable, FAIR, secure and ethically compliant access to life science data, services and computational resources across Europe.
FAIR data
The Life Sciences Connect EOSC Node federates FAIR omics, imaging, structural and clinical data repositories, along with FAIR compliant software, workflows and training to accelerate discovery, support personalised medicine and strengthen European competitiveness in life sciences.
Scientific use cases
Imaging data workflows on Galaxy
This science case on imaging data workflows on Galaxy demonstrates how a federated, open-access computational platform can transform the way imaging data are processed, shared, and reused across diverse scientific domains.
The use case leverages the Galaxy platform to integrate data from a wide range of imaging-based research fields—such as life sciences (microscopy), astrophysics (telescope data), climate science (satellite data), and marine science (underwater imagery)—into a unified analysis environment. The goal is to demonstrate that Galaxy can be integrated into the EOSC Federation’s common infrastructure to serve many disciplines simultaneously, allowing researchers to share workflows, reuse methods, and access powerful computational tools without needing specialised technical expertise.
Biological sequestration of carbon in the ocean
The scientific use case addresses the ocean’s critical role in mitigating climate change through biological carbon sequestration, a process by which marine microorganisms capture atmospheric carbon dioxide and store it in the deep ocean for centuries.
Despite its global importance for climate modelling, this mechanism remains poorly represented in current models, which still rely on simplified representations of marine ecosystems. The use case seeks to fill this knowledge gap by integrating genomic, environmental, and modelling data within a unified, open, and interoperable framework provided by the EOSC Federation.
Other use cases
- Cross-domain interactive image data analysis with BAND virtual desktop: Enable human-in-the-loop analysis workflows for large scale remote datasets and support training
- Federated data storage of structural biology data: Federated access to distributed data and orchestration of data flow from instruments to repositories
Status
Candidate thematic EOSC Node (build-up phase)
Deliverables
- Integrated life science service catalogue
- Demonstrator use cases across omics, imaging, clinical data
- Policies for GDPR and ethical compliance
- Technical and security frameworks (AAI, monitoring, incident response)
- Training and outreach materials for the life science community
- Sustainability and governance plan
Technical status
Planned
- Federated AAI (Life Science AAI, ELIXIR AAI, integration with EOSC AAI)
- Onboarded service catalogues (ELIXIR, Euro-BioImaging, EMBL, Instruct ERIC)
- Application workflow management (Galaxy, Jupyter, workflow registries)
- Service monitoring (harmonised across infrastructures)
- Service and research product accounting
- Order management
- Helpdesk
- Management system (policies aligned with EOSC and ESFRIs)
Interactions with other EOSC Nodes
The Life Sciences Connect EOSC Node collaborates with the following EOSC Nodes to provide health-related synergies with the European Health Data Space (EHDS).
How to access the Node
Rules of Participation
The Life Sciences Connect RoP policy is aligned with:
- EOSC Federation and ESFRI principles;
- GDPR, ethics, and security frameworks in place; and
- FAIR data and Open Science policies adopted.
Access points
- Via federated AAI: Life Science AAI and ELIXIR AAI (elixir-europe.org/platforms/compute/aai)
- Service catalogues accessible through EOSC portal and life science infrastructure websites (eurobioimaging.eu, instruct-eric.org or embl.org)
Node capabilities
Federated services
- AAI
- Workflows
- Service catalogues
Data repositories
- Omics (ELIXIR and EMBL)
- Imaging (Euro-BioImaging)
- Structural Biology (Instruct ERIC)
Compute and storage
- National HPC and cloud infrastructures via ESFRIs
VRE
- Galaxy
- Jupyter
- Workflow management systems
File sync-and-share
Distributed infrastructures (in progress)
Other
- Ethical compliance
- GDPR frameworks
- Training and competence centres
- Impact assessment
- Communications
Coordinating organisations
Node organisation
Coordinator
Peter Maccallum (ELIXIR Chief Technical Officer)
Steering and Operations Committee
ELIXIR, Euro-BioImaging, EMBL, Instruct ERIC
Technical and Scientific Officers
Operations Manager
Security Officer
Legal Officer
Communications Officer
Contributing organisations
Pan-European life science research organisations from the coordinating infrastructures.
